Case:Bailey
Bailey passed on 8/28/2007 in my arms. 5/1/1991 - 8/28/2007 Bailey was diagnosed in 3/2004 This section is documented for Vet's who may be considering Levemir. Hindsight was clearly 20/20 in his last month and his ongoing problems with trying to manage FD (Bailey was always a high dose kitty - sometimes receiving 20+ Units per day. Tests negative for cushings and acromegaly) 8/6/2007 diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, progressed to restrictive cardiomyopathy. Stage 3 murmur. Starting him on benzepril 2mg SID for BP and buprenex for pain related to badly needed dental. Trying to get him cleared for dental, numerous tests were run and full bloodwork results were normal. 8/24/2007 BP back in normal range when abdomen exam revealed a mass. Ultrasound diagnosed cancer of the pancreas and liver. His pancreas looked like swiss cheese. (No wonder he was such a high dose kitty) Quickly declined in 3 days. Levemir was the only insulin that really worked for Bailey. The long duration and flat/slow curves were never achieved with other insulins. I did have to supplement Levemir with N boosters. If PS was above 350 levemir was too gentle to bring the numbers down. If the numbers were lower than this range then the levemir would bring him down under renal threshold and hold him there for the full 12 hours. Levemir was the only insulin that ever provided him with 12 hour duration. Glucose toxicity was a major issue for Bailey. Was able to break through the toxicity with TID dosing on Levemir which provided a perfect overlap that allowed his numbers to remain around 90-250 (Prior to levemir we never broke the 300 mark!) Lantus proved too volatile - numbers never showed any consistency or duration even with doses as high as 10U BID (numerous rebound checks were run); Levemir never showed any volatility. Even though there are only user cases and no studies on levemir I would highly recommend this insulin for high dose or cats who are having trouble regulating on other insulins. Very predictable and consistent patterns which even allowed for sliding scales and supplementing with N boosters. Please beware of low PS. Bailey's onset was 4 hours and I was able to shoot with a PS as low as 90 without rebound. Older info: I hometest regularly, at at lesat every preshot and some spot checks, with a LifeScan One Touch Ultra glucometer. Bailey has never been on steroids. He has shown some signs of neuropathy and balance problems on days with HI readings. We have used numerous insulins. We are finding that N & R are packing the punch he needs but are not lasting long enough. U and Lantus are lasting long enough, but not packing the punch we need. His numbers are consistently in the 400-500 range and he is definately a high dose kitty. He will continually show the same patterns. When dosing or insulin is changed he responds pretty well for 1-2 days and then goes back to a high-flat curve. Even with the high numbers, Lantus has improved the PU/PD and other diabetes side-effects and overall just looks 'brighter' when on Lantus. The start low go slow method has not worked for us to date. Numerous rebound tests have been tried and he hasn't currently shown any rebound signs. The vet has run numerous tests and we can not find any other health problems to be the cause of the insulin resistence. We are currently trying to cut the toxcitity with R boosters. Last fructosomine reading was 475 in October. Effect of Food Food has some impact. He is currently on Sophisticat low-carb with access to Innova Evo (I have another cat I'm trying to get off the dry food). He will normally spike 100-150 points within an hour after eating. He is fed 1 can 2x/day. He does receive home-made dehydrated salmon for treats. Levemir Is definately more consistent than his readings on Lantus. We are still fighting high numbers. Recently we have moved to TID dosing in effort to break the toxicity. All of Bailey's Levemir readings can be found in my profile at FDMB Bailey's FDMB profile Lantus survey results Posted by: cjaubz (CJ and Bailey) (IP Logged) Date: November 4, 2005 06:17PM Bailey was diagnosed 1 1/2 years ago. (March 2004) 14 year old male. Have had real hard time regulating him. Been on Humulin N, L and U in the past Most recently on Humulin U 8.5 u bid Just switched to Lantus after fair fructosomine reading 475 and rapidly swinging curves on U Dec. 29, 2005 - Still unregulated. Getting 5.5 u and R boosters as needed. Have only seen 1 reading in the 300's since starting lantus. Continuing to go slow and raise dose by .5 every 10-14 days. I think Sheree stated it best..."It also seems to depend what BG level Nem is at as to whether the Lantus will work its magic. If she is too high, it is like giving her nothing." - Bailey clearly shows this pattern. 1.) When was your cat diagnosed with FD? 3/2004 2.) When did you start using Lantus and how long till regulation? 10/13/2005 - not regulated 3.) Are you feeding your cat a low-carbohydrate diet? Yes - Sophisticat 4.) Has your cat gone off of insulin? No 5.) Are you considering changing to or from Lantus? Not yet Category:Humulin N cases Category:Humulin L cases Category:Humulin U cases Category:Difficult regulation casesCategory:Feline cases Category:Glucose toxicity cases Category:low-carb casesCategory:Male cases Category:Neuropathy cases Category:UTI cases Category:Booster cases Category:Overlap cases Category:Lantus casesCategory:Levemir cases Category:Feline male cases Category:Feline low-carb cases Category:Feline difficult regulation cases Category:Feline neuropathy cases Category:Feline UTI cases Category:Feline booster users Category:Feline glucose toxicity casesCategory:Feline Levemir users